the last time i drove her, over to my new house a couple of years ago, the max speed i could reach was about 50. i only had about the last 1/3 of my gas pedal. it didnt start working until i had it pushed about 2/3 down. over those two years ive been starting her up regularly and pulling out into the driveway to wash her and stuff but no real over the road trips.

i hadnt run her for a couple of months because i found a fuel leak and had not had time to fix it until tonight. i got the new fuel lines on and everythings great. but there is a new problem. now i have even LESS in my pedal. i found the throttle arm setup that comes out of where the pedal is and it moves back and forth but there is no real give or take in the line. the car was idling REALLY HIGH at first but no matter what i did to the pedal it made no difference. i had to pull the arm the pedal is connected too in order to bring it down to a normal idle. then once i had done that it wouldnt do anything.

the last time i noticed by pulling the arm it opened the throttle and by letting go it closed it (as its supposed too) but now it wont really do anything. i have a factory repair manual but it doesnt really go into throttle cables or any of that sort of thing. im also sort of a novice at this whole thing but definetly want to fix this problem myself. any and all advice would be much appreciated. (hope my terminology makes sense)

Start by disconnecting the cable at the carb. Make sure the carb moves freely. Have someone move the gas pedal and compare (the pedal will probably be loose once it's disconnected). You should be able to tell where the problem is by checking it while it is loose.

My '71 was like that when it was only 10 years old. Dunno if the cable part of the linkage stretched or what. I pulled the gas pedal forward out of the way and bent the throttle linkage arm by pulling it carefully. Also have seen the little insert on the rear of the gas pedal go away and the pedal itself wears out. There are 2 ball studs on the floor which hold the pedal. The pedal has a rubber backing with 2 holes and the ball studs pop right into them. Check the pedal itself to see if it is all there.

The 76 that I bought for the motor and tranny for a swap ,was doing the same thing very little throttle responce,so I pulled off the breather and the end of the cable has a threaded turnbuckle type of set up and it was very loose.After I tightened it up it ran great,hope this helps.

Steve

I was going to suggest the same thing, because it is possible for the adjusting end of the linkage on the carb to back out of adjustment over time, but not usually in a car that sits alot. It is worth a look and easy to fix, check your manual for the adjust procedure.

Two other things to consider, check the carb bolts they will work loose over time and the carb will move sideways slightly when you move the throttle slightly binding the throttle plates against the manifold.

Also if you have a internal cabr gas leak it will soften the carb gasket under the carb and can eventually let the carb move sideways a little as descirbed above.

I'd check the linkage for proper adjustment then tighten the four carb bolts and see what happens.

A car that sits alot inside or out can develop moisture inside the distrubutor cap which will cause the mechanical advance weights to get sticky which will impair performance more and more over time to the point where the engine will just not rev up when you press the gas pedal.

Good luck.